FAST
FAST refers to the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope located in Kedu Town, Pingtang County, Guizhou Province. FAST is the largest single-aperture and most sensitive radio telescope in the world, whose overall performance is ten times that of the Arecibo telescope in the United States. Its reflective surface has an area of 250,000 square meters, equivalent to the size of 30 football fields.
As one of China's major science and technology projects, FAST was put into operation on September 25, 2016, and had discovered more than 300 pulsars by the end of March 2021, contributing significantly to the endeavors of scientists to explore the secrets of the universe. FAST belongs not just to China, but to all mankind. It began to be open to the world on March 31, 2021. Now scientists in all countries are allowed to apply to use the telescope for observation and research purposes.
To protect the electromagnetic wave environment around FAST, the area within a radius of five kilometers is set as the quiet zone, where all modern communication signals are blocked, which is something unique to experience. Kedu Town, where FAST is located, has become a popular science demonstration center. Every year a large number of astronomy enthusiasts and tourists come here to learn about astronomy, explore the secrets of the universe, take a vacation, and take part in cultural exchange.
“中國(guó)天眼”
“中國(guó)天眼”,是指位于貴州省平塘縣克度鎮(zhèn)的500米口徑球面射電天文望遠(yuǎn)鏡,它是目前世界上最大單口徑、最靈敏的射電望遠(yuǎn)鏡,綜合性能是美國(guó)阿雷西博望遠(yuǎn)鏡的10倍。它的總面積達(dá)25萬(wàn)平方米,相當(dāng)于30個(gè)足球場(chǎng)那么大。
“中國(guó)天眼”是中國(guó)的國(guó)家重大科技工程之一,于2016年9月25日落成啟用。截至2021年3月底,“中國(guó)天眼”已發(fā)現(xiàn)脈沖星300多顆,為人類(lèi)探測(cè)宇宙秘密的科學(xué)事業(yè)作出重大貢獻(xiàn)。“中國(guó)天眼”不只屬于中國(guó),也屬于全人類(lèi)。自2021年3月31日起,“中國(guó)天眼”面向全球開(kāi)放,各國(guó)科學(xué)家均可提出申請(qǐng),使用它開(kāi)展觀測(cè)和研究工作。
為保護(hù)天眼周邊的電磁波環(huán)境,圍繞望遠(yuǎn)鏡半徑5千米的范圍都屬于靜默區(qū),人們可以在這里體驗(yàn)沒(méi)有現(xiàn)代通信干擾的生活,那是一種獨(dú)特的感受。“中國(guó)天眼”所在的克度鎮(zhèn)已成為科普示范基地,每年大批天文愛(ài)好者和游客來(lái)這里體驗(yàn)集天文科普、宇宙探秘、旅游度假、文化交流為一體的生態(tài)科技旅游。
